Spiegel: Baltic states and Poland name conditions for sending troops to Ukraine

27 May, 2024 Javelin ATGM in the Estonian army. Photo credits: Ministry of Defense of Estonia The Baltic states and Poland do not rule out sending their troops into Ukraine.

However, this could happen under certain conditions. The German publication Der Spiegel reported on this. According to the publication, this may happen if Russia achieves significant success on the frontline due to insufficient assistance from the West.

Spiegel claims that at a conference held in the Estonian capital last week, unnamed Baltic MPs warned German government officials about the consequences of Berlin's policy regarding the war in Ukraine. It regards the German side's unwillingness to provide long-range weapons to Ukraine, as well as the prohibition of strikes by Western weapons on military targets in Russia.

Polish soldiers during NATO exercises.

2016 year. Photo credits: NATO

Der Spiegel claims that representatives of Poland and the Baltic states warned Berlin:

"If the Russians achieve a strategic breakthrough in eastern Ukraine, they will not wait for the deployment of Russian troops on their borders and will send troops to Ukraine themselves." The publication writes that "this will mean that NATO will become a party to the war," and notes that this is exactly what German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and US President Joe Biden fear. In early March, Poland's Foreign Minister said that the discussion of Western troops in Ukraine was useful for influencing Russia.

A week earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron said that "we cannot rule out" the possibility of sending Western troops to Ukraine. He later added that his resonant words had been carefully considered.

Petr Pavel and Emmanuel Macron.

Photo from the Czech president's Facebook page

Czech President Petr Pavel also believes that Europe should not limit its ability to support Ukraine.

He called for expanding forms of assistance, including the possible presence of foreign troops in Ukraine.

Kaja Kallas.

Photo from the social network X

And a week ago, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said that some countries had already sent their instructors to Ukraine to train the Ukrainian military.